Starting April 1, 2026, the General Administration of Customs officially implemented the new policy on cross-customs returns for cross-border e-commerce retail exports, exclusively applicable to goods exported under the 9610 model. The policy achieves nationwide "cross-customs universal return" and completely breaks the previous restriction that returned goods could only be sent back to the original export customs.
According to the new regulation, returned goods can be sent to any customs supervision work site nationwide that conducts cross-border e-commerce retail export business. Enterprises only need to have independent functional work areas and connect their system data with the customs information platform to carry out related business.
 
Previously, cross-border e-commerce sellers had to return goods to the original export customs, with logistics costs accounting for 15%-20% of the cargo value and a processing time of 15-20 days. After the implementation of the new policy, return logistics costs have been reduced by more than 60%, and the time limit has been shortened to 3-5 days, greatly improving the consumer experience. It also opens up a new track for freight forwarders in cross-border e-commerce return logistics.
 
Industry Suggestions
 
1. Freight forwarders should promptly complete the compliance renovation of customs supervision work sites, upgrade logistics management systems, and realize real-time data connection with customs to meet the requirements of cross-customs return business.
2. Launch exclusive "9610 Model Return Logistics Solutions" for cross-border e-commerce sellers, covering the whole process of return pickup, customs clearance, warehousing and resale to reduce sellers' operating costs.
3. Cross-border e-commerce sellers sort out the categories of returned goods, give priority to handling returns through the 9610 model, and confirm the return customs with freight forwarders to minimize logistics costs.